How To Shape and Groom Your Eyebrows

Keeping unruly brows in check require constant grooming so today, I am going to cover the five different ways to do it.

#1 TweezingThe easiest and most common way, tweezing involves using a pair of tweezers to pluck the whole hair, including the follicle. Always use a pair of tweezers that is sharp enough (I LOVE Tweezerman!), pull the skin taut and then pull in the direction the hair is growing.

#2 WaxingWaxing involves spreading a thin layer of wax over the skin, pressing a cloth or paper strip over it and ripping it off in a quick movement against the direction of hair growth. This removes the wax along with the hair and dead skin cells leaving the skin smooth. Waxing also provides the most long-lasting results. In most cases, hair will not grow back from three to eight weeks. Constant waxing will also result in hair that grows back softer. However, pain is definitely the biggest drawback and waxing can cause redness on sensitive skin.

#3 TrimmingAnother way to groom your eyebrows is by trimming. Brush the hair upwards with a spoolie and use a pair of trimming scissors like KAI Eyebrow Scissors to cut off the “excess”. This is a relatively easy and most painless method but may be difficult on areas that require more precision.

#4 ThreadingThreading is an ancient method used in Asia and should be left to the pros. It involves using a 100% cotton thread and twisting the hair to pull out a whole row of hair from the follicle. It might hurt a little but is less irritable to your skin compared to tweezing and waxing. Read about my threading experience here.

#5 ShavingShaving is one of the most popular methods in Japan where girls would shave off the entire end and fill them in with pencils. While this method is quick and pain-free, I personally do not recommend doing this because looking eyebrow-less when you do not have makeup on is not so hot. Instead, I recommend shaving under the brow to get rid of strays.

How I Groom My Eyebrows
Since each method has its pros and cons, I like to alternate between trimming, tweezing and shaving. I have had my eyebrows threaded before and while I loved the results, my eyes are too sensitive and I can never stop crying whenever I get it done.

What about the shape? It all depends on the look you are going for. Thick, dark eyebrows tend to give off a stronger look. Thin brows with high archs will make you look older and bushy eyebrows tend to make people look younger. If you have a round face, you might want a more pronounced arch; on the other hand, if your face tends to be more angular, try to soften your look by keeping your eyebrows “rounder”. I would also recommend keeping your natural shape and plucking only stray hairs. Super thin, over-pluck eyebrows are sooooo out.

Phyllis Li is the Founder and Editor-in-chief of Makeup For Life, one of the top 50 beauty blogs that focuses on celebrity makeup breakdowns, product reviews, makeup tutorials and all things beauty.
Having lived and traveled in North America, Europe and Asia, she was exposed to different techniques and products at an early age and hopes to put a global perspective towards beauty. Phyllis won the Best Content Award by Total Beauty in 2008 and has been featured in various publications and websites including ELLE, Glamour.com, Yahoo Shine!, AOL Stylelist, Nylon Korea, VOGUE China, Ming Pao Daily (Canada) and Shanghai Weekly. In 2010, she was appointed one of the nine Real Women Ambassadors in the United States to take part in the Latisse® Wishes Challenge, working with Hollywood celebrity Kathy Ireland and raised over $400,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation to grant wishes for approximately 54 children. In 2012, she teamed up with luxury skincare brand TATCHA and released a limited-edition 3-Piece Set of her favorite beauty products.
Phyllis currently lives in Chicago, US. She is a regular contributor to Shanghai Daily's StyleHai Magazine and a member of the Glam Beauty Network.

11 COMMENTS

Im a cosmetologist and with waxing your eyebrows, hot wax is also commonly used, more often then strip wax. Its wax that is applied to the eyebrow area where the desired hair is to be removed and then it dries, it it then removed without a strip, it is less painful and you can get a cleaner line and shape with hot wax.Actually all in all, eyebrow waxing is hardly painful that painful.I would suggest getting any eyebrow waxing done at a salon, you can make terrible mistakes trying to do this yourself.

Hi! Uhmmm…. I’m a taiwanese girl with pale skin, I guess with more pink tones than yellow. (That’s what some over the counter person said). I’m makeup dumb but I absolutely love eyes as well! The problem is I don’t know how to enhance mine. I have a question: I love blood red lips that make your teeth flash white. Do you know of any colors that I could get cheap and fast (ie. walgreens since i’m in college) that would satisfy what i said above?

I know this is totally irrevalent to this topic but my prom is coming up very soon and my dress is green and I was wondering if you can post up a tutorial on how to do a green smokey eye look?? Thanks so much!~

Anonymous said… I know this is totally irrevalent to this topic but my prom is coming up very soon and my dress is green and I was wondering if you can post up a tutorial on how to do a green smokey eye look?? Thanks so much!~

What kind of green do you have in mind? I will not have time to do a tutorial until next week.

Hi Phyllis, My eyebrows are really dark (I’m Chinese) and not too thin, cause I tried not to overplug them, but sometimes I wish I could tone down my eyebrows when I want a different look. Can you recommand any specific product and how do I use it? Thanks!

My biggest dilemma on eyebrows is where to start your eyebrows. I know you’re supposed to put a pencil on the side of your nose, but I don’t know exactly where to start. If I put the pencil on the left of my nose, do I align the pencil exactly where my eye starts, and do I pluck the left side of the pencil or the right? It seems like a crazy question , but pencils are kinda thick and it makes a huge difference on my eyebrows. Can you post a specific diagram or tutorial please? Thanks, and btw, I LOVE your website. You are awesoome!

Thanks for u're tips…I usually shave to get the shape of my eyebrows cause I'm afraid of the pain from threading…lol…& my eyebrows are thin…I used 2 have a fringe to hide my eyebrows but its grown out now so I have to shape them…I wish I could have eyebrows like yours…They're so well defined & immaculate!!!